In recent years, water skiing has become a particularly popular sport. The skiing operation generally begins with the boat being maneuvered to a position relatively close to the skier so that the skier can grasp one end of a tow rope. The other end of the tow rope is attached in some manner to the boat. The boat then is moved slowly away from the skier until the tow rope is substantially taut. The boat is then accelerated quickly to cause the skier to rise to the surface of the water and be pulled at the same speed at which the boat is traveling.
The most common method for towing a water skier is securing the ski rope to the rear or stern of the boat. The simplest attachment for the rope is to a bow eye or ring mounted on the rear or stern of the boat, generally used for moving purposes, such as removing the boat from the water by a hoist. Such attachment points are generally near water line, and become even lower when the boat accelerates on start-up because the bow of the boat rises significantly out of the water. This initial downward force on the rope makes it difficult for the skier to rise out of the water. Moreover, when the skier moves from one side of the boat to the other, the rope often hits the wake of the boat. Desirably, the attachment point of the tow rope should have a vertical offset so that the rope is clear of the motor or other stern structures, and is maintained in proper attitude for pulling the skier (i.e., the taut rope is approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boat.)
Various other prior art tow devices have been described. In one apparatus, an upstanding rope deploying means, having a hook on the top end, is mounted on the stern of the boat. The rope is attached to the mounting by looping it over the hook. See, e.g., Sell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,918, issued June 24, 1975; Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,609, issued Feb. 25, 1964.
The tow rope may also be secured to the boat by being wound around a winch and the rope fed through an eye affixed to a davit or davit-like structure which has sufficient vertical offset to clear the motor. The winching assembly can rewind the tow rope when the skier falls or otherwise releases the tow rope. See, e.g., Correll, U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,726, issued Feb. 4, 1958; Cox, U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,963, issued Nov. 18, 1975; Zetah, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,496, issued Jan. 9, 1979.
In the case of a boat with an outboard motor, the tow rope may be mounted on the top of the motor. See, Cooke, U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,885, issued March 5, 1963. In yet another prior art apparatus, the tow rope is secured to a mounting secured to the floor of the boat with sufficient vertical offset to clear the motor. See, Paxton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,375, issued Dec. 31, 1985.
When a waterskier falls or otherwise releases the tow rope, the boat is decelerated so that the tow rope can be recovered or repositioned for the skier. Often, however, the trailing tow rope constitutes a navigational hazard for nearby boats. Other boats may pass even between the boat and the end of the rope, cutting off the rope. Frequently, when manually pulling in the rope, it becomes entangled in the propeller or propeller shaft of the motor and must be freed. Moreover, when more than one skier are being pulled by the boat and their ropes are released, it becomes very difficult for the boat operator to return to the skiers without the tow ropes becoming entangled and to position all the trailing tow ropes so that they may be retrieved by the skiers. Furthermore, when not in use, the rope often lies on the floor of the boat and frequently becomes tangled with passengers' feet or other items on the floor. Storage of more than one tow rope in the boat without entanglement is difficult.
Despite recognition of problems with tow rope attachment, rewind and storage, none of the foregoing apparatuses provides all the features of an attachment system with the sufficient offset to clear stern structures, convenient storage when not in use, and quick rewind capability. The present invention provides a tow rope apparatus with attachment point for the proper attitude to pull a skier and clear any obstructing structures, e.g., a motor, automatic rewind capability, and convenient storage of the rope.